Process of saving the values of concentrates and slimes.



I Liz-pinup PATENTED AUG. 11, 1908.

S. M. SMITH. THE VALUES OF GONGENTRATES AND SLIMBS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 19m.

v n A w 1 4 .u\ w U M 1 SS OF SAVING moor:

STEPHEN MATHIAS SMITH, OF BOISE, IDAHO. i

PROCESS OF SAVING TIE VALUES OF QONCENTRATES AND SLDIE S.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

Application filed. June 4, 1903. Serial No. 160,067.

To a-Zl w.7,0m it may concern:

Be it'knovm that I, STEPHEN MATIHAS I Sm'rn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residlargely composed of slimes, which ores have ing at Boisecity, in the county of Ada, State of Idaho, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Processes of Saving the Values ofConcentrates and Slimes; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention while relating generally to the treatment of ores for theextraction therefrom of the precious materials contained therein, isdirected more particularly to the treatment of tailings, or concentratesfor the recovery of values escaping from the concentrator or equivalentmill appliance, an object of my improved process being the separationfrom the partly worked ore-bearing materials of all of the containedvalues regardless of the character or condition of such materials or ofthe degree of fineness of the valuable roduct or products. It will be undcrstood iowever that my improved process is equally applicable to thetreatment of orebearing materials in their initial state or condition,hence the hereinafter stated specific adaptation is not to be regardedas a limitation. y

The nature of my improved process and the simplicity of construction ofapparatus necessary for carrying the same into effect, renders itespecially adaptable for the treatment of low grade ores and ores whichare heretofore been regarded as practically valueless by reason of t 1egreat expense attending their reduction and the inefficiency of theprocesses or apparatus employed.

A further difficulty encountered in the treatment of certain kinds ofores is in the.

elimination of arsenic, antimony, sulfur and other elements which, as iswell known, have a detrimental eflect on the ores, and in many instancespractically defeat the purpose of the process or action of the apparatusemployed. My improved process is especially designed with the view toovercoming this last named difficulty, the objectionable elements beingentirely eliminated at one stage of the process.

Another advantage possessed by my improvedproccs is economy in the useof water. In carrying the process into effect, the

' I same body of water may be repeatedly used,

thereby rendering the rocess adaptable to mining districts in whic 1 ascarcity of water prevails.

The nature of my improved process will be readily comprehended referencebeing had to the following detailed descriptionand to the accompanyingdrawing which illustrates by a perspective view an apparatus capable ofcarrying the process into effect.

Referring to the drawing by numerals, 1 designates a pipe for conveyingto the a pa-,

ratus the water and material discharged Tom the concentrator, crushingmachinery or other appliance, a preferred way being to i connect saidpipe with a suitable hopper at the overflow or tailiiws end of theconcen tra-tor. The pipe delivers the water and material into one end ofa washing and settling tank 2 which is divided transversely bypartitions 3 into compartments and is provided near its opposite endwith a lower discharge opening 4, for gangue, and with an upperdischarge spout 5 for the lighter materia s, such as slimes, arsenic,antimony, sulfur and the values. The water and material is delivered bythe pipe 1 into the first compartment and overflows therefrom into thenext compartment, and so on, until the tank is filled, whereupon thepipe may be brought into position to fill a second tank 6 arrangedalongside the tank 2 and similarly provided with compartments formedbypartitions 7 and with lower and upper discharges 8, 9. Obviously thenumber of tanks employed will depend upon the desired capacity of theapparatus. The function of these tanks is to separate the gangue,slimes'and values, the former settling to the bottoms of thecompartments, and the slimes and values being discharged through thespouts 5, 9.

The angue, before its withdrawal from the tanks, is thoroughly washedand rinsed to effect the recovery of any remaining values, this beingaccomplished by water supplied under pressure from a ieustock 10,through a preferably flexible tube or hose 11 and through nozzles 12, 12at openings in a, pipe 13 arranged above and longitudinally of thetanks. Said pipe is connected centrally with the hose by a valved pipe13. As shown, I prefer to employ two nozzles for each compartment, thenozzles of a pair inclining in. opposite directions, and to facilitatethe stirring, washing and rinsing operation, the pipe is vibrated byhand, suitable I vided for the purpose. The no z zle equip ed over thetank 2.

notes a pipe leading from the lower end of 'equal capacity and ofrelatively lesser di- 4 ameter, whereby to diminish the flow, whichbelow the settling tank.

pipe 13 is shiftable from one tank to theot' 101, whereby interruptionsin the operation are avoided, the hose 11 being of the proper length toallow of the pipe being brought In the step of treating the gangue forthe recovery of the values remaining therein, the material is violently;agitated and is brought into astate of suspension in the water wherebyits discharge through the openings 4,8 is facilitated. The washed andrinsed gangue fails from the openings into a trough 15 between the tanksand from thence is conveyed away in any suitable manner.

The lighter materials discharging from the tanks are conducted byinclined troughs 16 to settling tanks 17, 18, of relatively largecapacity, the function of which is to separate the deleterioussubstances or elements, such as arsenic, antimony and sulfur from thesliines and values. Preferably, the tanks 17 and 18 afiord the supportfor the elevated tanks 2, 6, though this is not an essentialarrangement. In the tanks 17, 18, the slimes and values are caused tosettle to the bottom, the arsenic, antimony and sulfur rising to thesurface where they are skimmed and run into discharge spouts 19, 20 andare conveyed therefrom to any oint outside of the mill. The separationof t 1e slimes and values from the objectionable substances named, iseffected by heat applied to the contents of the tanks 17 18, by )ipes inwhich the heating medium, preferab y hot water, is caused to circulate.Referring to the heating means, 21 dethe penstock to furnaces 22, 23,said pipe being branched, as at 24, 25, and each branch leads to itsrespective furnace and is pro vided with a controlling valve. Each ofsaid pipes is connected by suitable couplings, including reducers, withtwo pipes 26 27 of smaller pipes enter the finnace and are bent, asshown, to provide the proper heating surface to bring the water thereinto the required temperature. The pi es 26, 27 commonly connect with avalve( pipe 28 which enters the respective tank 17 or 18, at the bottomthereof, and is divided, as at 29, and bent to zig zag form to provide alarge heat-, ing surface for raising the temperature of the contents ofthe tank to effectthe se aratiou of the arsenic, antimony and sulfur romthe slimes and values, as above stated. The pipe extensions 30, 30 ofthe pi e 28, finally extend vertically and project a ove the top of thetank, as at 31, new connections may be made with the respective settlingtank, or with a sump tank 32 located adjacentjo and 33, 34 are dryingtanks for the coneen tively on the furnaces 22, 23 whereby they receiveheat from the latter, but to obtain the requisite degree of temperature,zig zag heating pipes 35 are arranged in the tanks, the heating mediumbeing supplied from the pipes 28 by a valved connecting pipe 36.

discharges int-o the settling tanks from pipes 37, 37.

the use of hot water as a heating medium for the separating tank. Mypurpose in using hot water is to give me a heating medium which can bereadily controlled and which will heat up the mixture in the tankwithoutcausing the same to boil. It will be further noticed that by theuse of a heat which does not produce boiling, that the mixture in thetank is heated up without the same being agitated. \Vhile I havedescribed the use of hot water as a heating medium, it is to beunderstood that any other heating agent may be used, if found desirable.

In practice, initial separation of the slimes, values and deleterioussubstances from the gangue, having been accomplished, in the mannerstated, by the employment of the tanks 2 and 6 and the water jets, thegangue is thoroughly washed and rinsed to effect the separation of anyvalues remaining therein, and the separated materials are collected inthe tanks 17, 18, where, by the application of heat, the arsenic,antimony and sulfur are caused to rise to the surface and are skimmedoff. The clear water is then drawn oil from the tanks 17, 18 atdifferent levels, plug ed outlets 38, 38 being successively opened,eginning at the uppermost one and ending with the lower one which latteris provided with a screen 39 to strain the water from the slimes. Theslimes remaining in the tanks are then dried by the application of heatfrom the ipcs 28, 29 and 30 end are removed throug 1 door controlledopenings -10 in the inner walls of the tanks. The slimes are here loadedon cars which travel on a track 41 leading to the sacking house orsmelter, as the case ma be.

The sump tank receives the clear water from the tanks 17 and 18 andalso, if desired, the hot water discharging from. the pipes 31. At 42 isa plugged opening by which to empty the tank when desired. A conveyer isprovided '0 elevate the water from the sump tank to a pressure tank -13supported by framing 44 at a suitable height and from the bottom ofwhich leads the penless belt 45 carrying at intervals buckets 46 andpassing around a lower driven wheel in the sump tank and around an upperwheel 47 supported above and at one side of the ressure tank 43. Theinner wall of each ucket is relatively longer than the outer trates.Said tanks aresupported respec wall, and said buckets discharge theircon- It will be noticedthat I have described stock 10. The conveyerconsists of an end- The hot water, after traversing the pipes aloweropening t9 from which the .water discharges into the pressure tank. The

"buckets are each provided at their discharge end with an inwardly bentextension 50, the

angle of whichflis approximately eight degrees, for retaining the waterin the bucket until the point of discharge is reached. It will beunderstood that any sediment en tering the sump tank is allowed tosettle to the bottom whereby only clear water is elevated to thepressure tank. The tanks 33,

34 are employed for drying the concentrates collected. from theconcentrating tables below the battery, the heat being, as above stated,derived from their proximity to the furnaces and from the heat radiatingpipes -35.

It will be observed that all of the conducting pipes are equippedwithivalves whereby the operation of the apparatus is under completecontrol. The number "of tanks emloyed will depend upon the desired capaclty of the apparatus, and the number shown is not, therefore, to beregarded as a limitation.

I claim as my invention- 1. The process of recoi'ering'slimes from waterin which they are suspended, and se crating aisenic, sulfur or antimonyfrom he slimes, which consists in placing the water containing theslimes in a receptacle and uniformly heating the same without boilin oragitation, whereby the slimes are caused to precipitate after thearsenic; sulfur or antimony has been separated therefrom.

2. The process of recovering slimes from water in which they aresuspended, and se arating arsenic, sulfur or antimony-from t 10 slimes,which consists in placing thewatcr containing the slimes in a receptacleand uniformly heating-the same without boilin or agitation, whereby theslimes are caused to precipitate after the arsenic, sulfur or anticeasesmony has been separated from the slimes,

and then drawing the watcrfree from the slimes from the rece tacle.

into a rece tacle, subgecting the material therein to tee action 0' thewater, whereby the slimes will be separated from the crushed ore organgue and will flow out over the edge of the recepta le with the water,the slimes by the addition of washing water being greatly diluted,conveying the water carr ing the slimes in suspension into a receptac e,and uniformly heat ng the same throughout without boiling. agitating orboiling currents in the water containing the slimes, whereby the slimesare caused to precipitate without disturbance, and then drawing oil' thewater free from slimes from the receptacle.

- 4. The recess of recoverin slimes from water in w rich they are susended, and clarifying the water which consists in placing the watercontaining the slimes in a receptacle and heating the same withoutboilin or agitation} whereby the slimes are caused to recipitatetand thearsenic, antimony or su fur compounds which may be contained in theslimes caused to rise to the surface, removin the elements on thesurface of the water, an drawing oh the water from the receptacle freefrom slimes and foreign matter.

5. The proces of settling slimes and purifying the water in which theyare sus )ended, which consists in subjecting the liqui carr ing. theslimes to the action of heat, whereby the slimes are precipitated andthe impuritics in the liquid caused to rise, removing the impuritiesfrom the top of the licl uid, and dceanting the liquid from the sett edslimes.

STEPHEN MATIIIAS SMITH. \Vitnesses:

Gimmes Tn. HAYES, Enwann SMITH.

